It doesn't matter. Who cares? White males aren't a team. The only drawback I can see from white males being underrepresented in college is that white males are underrepresented in college, which is a tautology.
If white males were being treated differently so were being held back, that would be a major problem, but that's not the case[1].
Moreover, white males seem to be doing just fine professionally, because college is a very leaky predictor of professional success. College should be more of a means than an end. Apparently there's more to life than college.
[1] Except through, perhaps, several links of causality chain. And when you start making those claims, the slope gets slippery fast.
If college makes people more productive and college-educated females continue to leave the workforce at a higher rate than college-educated men, a lower proportion of college-educated men will mean a less productive society. This is only one measure of a society, and clearly not the most important one, but this trend does have actual ramifications. It matters.
One theory I’ve heard is that a lot of white males can get decent jobs without college degrees, so they do so. Members of other demographic groups, though, are really screwed if they try to enter the adult workforce without a college degree. So they’re more motivated to get one.
That's an interesting theory, and it probably explains some of the decisions made by many people I know. Is this a theory you've just heard casually mentioned or has there been actual research on this?
> If white males were being treated differently so were being held back, that would be a major problem, but that's not the case
In some cases this is a problem. A larger problem is the gender preference of studies. White males tend to study subjects such as engineering at a much higher rate than women. Women in turn studies courses such as education and BA at a much greater rate.
The problem (at least here) is that in University of Technologies and engineering departments, women are promoted – which causes a severe imbalance.
I would prefer it however if the government stop all admission preferences (race, gender, etc…) and abstain from attempts at social engineering. The best approach would be to make the process "blind" by removing names and anything that can indicate gender or race from the application process.
If white males were being treated differently so were being held back, that would be a major problem, but that's not the case[1].
Moreover, white males seem to be doing just fine professionally, because college is a very leaky predictor of professional success. College should be more of a means than an end. Apparently there's more to life than college.
[1] Except through, perhaps, several links of causality chain. And when you start making those claims, the slope gets slippery fast.